Winning start for ECCI’s newest climate start-ups
Two of ECCI’s newest start-ups are off to a winning start - collectively bagging three awards in their first month on ECCI's EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator.
Seawater Solutions and Waterwhelm together won £25,000 in the Young EDGE Award, the award for entrepreneurs under the age of 30 in June's Scottish EDGE - the competition that provides grants to accelerate growth in Scotland’s start-ups.
In the same month Seawater Solutions CEO Yanik Nyberg (pictured third from left) won a Shell LiveWIRE Smarter Future Award - the UK's biggest online community for young entrepreneurs aged 16-30.
New Climate-KIC Accelerator recruit Seawater Solutions works with farmers around Scotland and Vietnam to develop innovative sustainable farming techniques using seawater to grow salt-tolerant crops. Focusing on redeveloped coastal farmland, the start-up is on a mission to tackle climate change, loss of biodiversity, and food insecurity.
Also newly part of the Climate-KIC Accelerator, Waterwhelm’s patent-pending solution is a unique, self-powered process for wastewater treatment and desalination - turning wastewater into freshwater while generating renewable energy and fertiliser - and ideal for use in small and remote communities. Founding Director Alireza Abbassi Monjezi (pictured second from left) was previously a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh.
Seawater Solutions Founder and CEO Yanik Nyberg said: “We’re excited about the opportunity that the ECCI represents.
"Climate-KIC Accelerator will definitely be our springboard into climate resilience and it's fantastic to be surrounded by likeminded people with a shared purpose.”
Scottish EDGE 14 winners also included ECCI and Climate-KIC Accelerator alumni Carbogenics - producer of the carbon-based additive CreChar for anaerobic digestion - who took home an impressive £50,000.
Seawater Solutions and Waterwhelm are among the eight budding Scottish climate start-ups that moved into the Climate-KIC Accelerator in June. The Accelerator programme offers early stage entrepreneurs access to up to €20,000 grant funding, business coaching with experienced professionals, a range of masterclasses and free workspace at ECCI’s vibrant Edinburgh hub.
The eight new recruits join the 22 new cutting-edge Scottish businesses that have already benefitted from ECCI’s Climate-KIC business support programmes. Since 2017 ECCI entrepreneurs bagged funding of over £1.75 million and scooped an impressive 54 awards.